Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., warned her Republican colleagues in the Senate that how they handle the sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be a critical flashpoint in the #MeToo movement.
“How the Senate handles this, and the Senate Republicans handle this, will be a test of this time, of 2018 in the #MeToo movement, can we do better?” Murray told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I fear we are failing that if we don’t do it correctly.”
The Democratic senator said Republicans have “predetermined the outcome” of the allegation by refusing an FBI investigation into the matter.
She cautioned there could be “tremendous backlash,” comparing the treatment of Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford to the Senate’s questioning of Anita Hill in 1991. Hill had accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarance Thomas of sexually harassing her before he was confirmed.
“Congress failed the test in 1991 with Anita Hill, that they could deal with this kind of allegation. And they have to be able to deal with this kind of allegation if we are going to be putting people on the highest court in the land,” Murray said.
Ford has tentatively agreed to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee later this week.
Kavanaugh has categorically denied he forced himself on Ford decades ago at a party when the two were high school students.
